Just $10,000 to spend on a heavy duty truck?

[Camronglom]

I would much prefer a fifth wheel over a TT but looking at any trucks bigger than a half ton is daunting to me. Is it possible to get a realiable heavy duty for a fifth wheel and not spend more than 10-12k on initial cost? And not loose my butt with maintence cost over the summer?

[Spdracr39]

I recommend 4x4 but a decent 3/4 ton can be had for that amount. The truck you need depends on the weight and size of the 5'er you are going to pull. Making the leap to at least a 3/4 ton is a smart move even if you end up with a bumper pull.

[Camper25]

A 3/4 ton is a fine truck.

[Kenvb]

it all depends on the size of your trailer too. anything more than 6500 lbs.i would recommed a 3.4 ton. the 6.2 gas V8 GMs are great.can get the same motor in 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton. stay away from Diesals. way to high maintainance costs,unless your experinced with them. if you do go diesal. go Dodge . my son has a 2016 for work. he removed all the pollution crap and DEF and gets 30 mpg now.my oldest son has a 2006 GM diesal that gets 25 mpg stock with over 400,000 on it.both of these have lots of power. Kenny pulls a 12,000 lb 38 ft fifth wheel trailer.if u find a pickup u like.make sure it has maintainace records with it, if the dont have any.stay away from it.

[RvRyan]

We put 8k down on a brand new ram 2019 2500 gasser. Got a decent payment for our situation and bought the warranty and am covered bumper to bumper for 100k miles. Upgraded from a ram 1500 and wow what a difference, I personally wouldn't go back to a half ton unless I wasn't towing much of anything ever. Good luck in your search and decision [emoji111]

Originally Posted by Camronglom

I would much prefer a fifth wheel over a TT but looking at any trucks bigger than a half ton is daunting to me. Is it possible to get a realiable heavy duty for a fifth wheel and not spend more than 10-12k on initial cost? And not loose my butt with maintence cost over the summer?

[seaeagle2]

At least with Fords, an used F250 with a 6.2 gas is about 8,000 less than a diesel.

[Isaac-1]

It can be done we bought a 2007 Dodge 1 ton for use on the family ranch about 3 years ago for $13,500.

[ToppDogg]

I recommend you shop the RV first then you will know what truck you need. Then come back and lets find the truck for that RV.

[Vongreg]

I feel always get more truck than you need. Sometimes you can get a truck that on paper and it should handle the trailer easily. Get it in the real world and maybe that 10,000# towing capacity isn’t really true unless you do a lot of mods.

I would also recommend a 4x4. If you get off of the pavement even a lightly loaded flatbed trailer can give you concerns on dirt. I can’t tell you how many times I have to put my Super Duty into 4WD just around my property moving trailers.

The more truck you can afford the better off you will be.

[Calson]

I would want a 2006 to 2007.5 Duramax diesel 2500 pickup and nothing less. I would expect to pay more than $20,000 for such a truck in good condition. With the gas powered 2500 trucks I would check on the problems with the mechanicals for different models and years. Probably $3000 to beef up the suspension and add air bags and the hitch mount for the 5th wheel trailer and a brake controller on the truck.

A travel trailer can be towed with a 1500 class pickup and you do not lose the bed of the truck. With a travel trailer the bed can be used for bicycles, a small boat, kayaks, dogs, and other gear.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by Camronglom

I would much prefer a fifth wheel over a TT but looking at any trucks bigger than a half ton is daunting to me. Is it possible to get a realiable heavy duty for a fifth wheel and not spend more than 10-12k on initial cost? And not loose my butt with maintence cost over the summer?

For a fifth wheel a half ton truck it isn’t going to be much. Do your home work on weight capacities cause I see a lot of 3/4 ton trucks over weighted with large fifth wheels if they would actually weight them.

[Nwcid]

That is going to be a tough order, especially with todays market on trucks.

I see a lot of recommendations on 3/4 ton, however if you look at the actual ratings of the truck you are really going to limit yourself on what 5th wheel you can get. They are a great truck for a TT.

Even on a 12k 5th wheel and having a 20% pin weight that is 2400 lbs. If you are at 25% that pushes you up to 3000 lbs. Add in hitch, cargo, people, etc and you can run out of capacity quickly.

[carybosse]

My son-in-law was looking for a light duty truck. He recently purchased a 2015 Chevy Colorado with the 4 cyl gas engine, over 100K miles, for $13K after searching and haggling for a good bit.

I priced out a 2015 Ford F250 a year ago, 60K miles, not in great shape, for over $20K, I sold a 2016 F150 with 50K miles about a year ago for $27K. All of this was before used truck prices went crazy.

At this point, $10K is going to be a really old heavy duty truck.

[Tha_Rooster]

Right now you can sell your 2016 f250 if in great shape for what you paid for it. A 2019 f350 dually for more than you than you paid for it.